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Question DetailsAsked on 11/16/2017

I manage an 8 unit building and one of the units has a really bad smell. We have cleaned the unit, had the carpet professionally cleaned and run an ozone machine in there for the past 48 hours. The smell has not changed. Our maintenance staff has been out and cannot locate the source of the smell.

1 Answer

You are in luck - just a hour or so ago I answered another mystery smell question, and I listed the bulk of the previous questions (with answers) about that and possible causes and how to track it down - link here -

If cleaned and no change in the smell, I would be looking first under things or behind radiators and such (possible animal droppings or dead animal - especially if the unit was vacant for awhile after last renter) - and smell around vents, for food shoved in by a little kid or trapped/dead animal. Hopefully you will not find what one friend did in a rental unit they own - a dead python in the duct.

And of course look in dishwasher/clothes washer for left items, or for stagnant water (if unit has been sitting vacant for awhile) there or in drains or toilet tank. Especially kitchen drain - they may have dumped some old food from reefer when they moved out and did not flush it down thoroughly with water, so you may have a stinking drain or garbage disposal.

Another possibility - air conditioner evaporator coil has gone septic due to lack of air moving over it, so smell would be coming from the ducts - but only if each unit has independent A/C coils and ducting, otherwise smell would be in all units.